Repair broken deck-hull lip

[daysailer12]

I've been fixing up an early Day Sailer I for a few years now. When I got the boat the deck-hull lip (that extends out from the boat and is covered by the rub rail) was badly cracked on the port side. There are several sections (multiple feet) where the fiberglass is completely broken through so that the lip is only held on by the rub rail. I can't find a previous thread describing this repair and I'd really appreciate any suggestions on repair. I'm afraid to attempt a repair on the outside where it will be difficult to smooth the repair to the deck/hull.

My plan for repair is roughly:
1. Detach the rub rail from the port side and cut away damaged fiberglass on the deck-hull lip.
2. Lift the deck upwards so that there is a small gap between the deck and hull in the area of the repair
3. Use fiberglass cloth tape (maybe 3" wide) and epoxy resin over some kind of a curved form (?) to build up a new hull lip, working from the inside of the boat.
4. Use fiberglass cloth tape on the inside to reattach the deck and hull.

I've learned so much from reading this forum and appreciate all the advice!

[GreenLake]

The one issue I see is that with an older boat, the rubrail will have hardened and I can't imagine that you will be able to get it back in place. In other words, this repair calls for installing a new rubrail (and the PVC channel to which it attaches, at the minimum, that would be needed to replaced for the damaged sections).

Leaving aside the rail and turning to the repair of the hull.

I don't think you need to fully reverse engineer the way the boat was built in the yard. As built by the yard, the lip contains of a hull and a deck layer. For the repair, that nicety isn't of interest, it can be a single bit of new layup - as long as it is bonded back to a beveled bit on both hull and deck to overlap existing laminate.

So here's an alternative.

(1) Start by cutting out all bad laminate. Anything that once you sand off the gelcoat looks "milky" instead of clear/dark is damaged and candidate for removal. (I assume that damage might well extend into deck or hull, unless the lip snapped off cleanly from a vertical force)

(2) Bevel any edges on the outside, sand paint/gelcoat on the inside down to fiberglass where you plan to place any backing.

(3) Support the repair from the inside. Lay up 2-3 layers of cloth/tape on a bendable rubber or plastic sheet. Stiff enough to support the layup, but not so stiff it can't conform to the hull/deck joint on the inside. If necessary, do it in multiple sections with small overlap. (Even if you do it in one, make the different layers a different width, stair-step)

(4) Place that layup on the inside against any opening that you cut into the hull. (If damage was limited to the lip, and you didn't need to cut into the hull or deck, your layup can be less, e.g. 1-2 layers, just to tab deck and hull together).

(5) Continue from the outside.

(6) Lay-up patches in a stair pyramid (largest layer first) to fill any holes you cut into deck or hull). (If you didn't need to cut away any damaged section from the hull itself, it's still good to bevel its upper 2" or so, so your repair has an overlap).

(7) Unlike a hole in the middle of the hull, one edge of your repair is the lip, which not only isn't beveled, but adds a 90 degree bend: your "pyramid" becomes a set of nested L's where the horizontal part isn't "stepped".

(8) After measuring the patches, you can make a layup on your sheet and then you use a batten (thin strip of wood) to press it in place. You may need two, to get the thickness to support the outer end of the lip.

(9) Once that's in place, there may be a bit of layup to be added to get things to the deck level, and to overlap a bevel that you should have ground into the deck. As the other part of the repair is supported and flat, you can do the lay-up in place.

(10) Don't worry if the underside of the lip ends up uneven or a tiny bit thicker than what it was before.

(11) For the side of the hull/to of deck or lip, sand off any excess that protrudes.

(12) If the hull/deck is painted, you simply use epoxy based filler to get a fair surface, which you can then paint.

(13) You should be able to repair the gelcoat, if you prefer that instead.

If you measure your pieces pretty well, you can do the layup on the work bench, on your support sheet, and then move that to the repair side. You may want to brush a bit of epoxy on the existing laminate (hull / deck). You avoid trying to do unsupported layup or "overhead" layup that way.

If the repair is too long to work it in one go, you can do it in sections, best while the epoxy from the first section is still "green", but already stiff enough to support it self. You'll still get a chemical bond at that stage.

I've not written much about working with epoxy or gelcoat. That's covered elsewhere, or you can ask, if you have questions.

Other than having a 90 degree bend in your repair, it's not that different from what I describe here: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=3785#p16656

The one difference is that in that repair I let the backing plate cure because I needed something that would help force the two edges back into alignment (apparently there were internal tensions that made it that the edges weren't in the same plane). In your case, I would transfer the layup while wet. (If you do the inside first, you'll get the hang of that approach w/o the full complications of the work on the outside).

[daysailer12]

Thanks for the very helpful reply and for taking the time to clearly explain the process. Now I just have to get up the nerve to tackle the repair.

[GreenLake]

Good luck with it. The descriptions are always more daunting than doing it. If you think through each step, and depending on the size of your repair, split any patches into sections, it should be fine.

[JimTan]

Thanks you very much.
This is what I need to do to my Falcon 16 too.
In my plan, I am thinking to use polyester resin. (reason is the price, I want to give the hull more layer of CMS and 1708)
3 layer of 1.5oz CSM and a layer of 1708.
Plan to extend out 8" each side from the lip.
Does it sound stupide?
I know I am not going to sale this boat for any money, but I plan to use it for a 6 months long travel and keep it for inland sailing.

[LGsailer]

@daysailer12 - any update on this repair? I have the exact same type of damage to this "lip." Only about 20" on my boat.